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Years ago (1980's) - I read an old CPS Piscator which showed a photo of a ~6ft long eel taken (on bait) out of the Cave Pool on the EP.

Back then, you could camp at the cave, so the next time I went up, I took 30KG Maxima, a nice big hook and bacon rind as bait to see if I could get one. Baited hook left out overnight attached to a tree branch - next morning - bitten clean off.
Tried this one more time, with the same result.

Hi Gary,

Could it be crabs that nipped through the line? I know that they happily manage to nip through sinking fly lines.

“Apparently people don't like the truth, but I do like it; I like it because it upsets a lot of people. If you show them enough times that their arguments are bullshit, then maybe just once, one of them will say, 'Oh! Wait a minute - I was wrong.' I live for that happening. Rare, I assure you” ― Lemmy Kilmister

What would their reaction be if I told them I knew Jasper Stupart and Chris Williams? Would they run me out of town?

Have also heard a story from when the guys were kids of a roaring/hissing eel that swallowed a whole magazine of .22 cartridges and then proceeded to chase the kids who had caught it! And I still have never caught one- for all their abundance in the eastern Cape's largely intact rivers!

All this talk of eels has made me homesick,for a long walk on a summers day on Margate(UK) promanade,sipping cold beer and eating jellied eels.

Those jellied eels are awesome bass bait. A few years ago, I camped with the kids at a place near Bonnievale, and we fished the Breede with spinning tackle from the bank. We were having limited success with bass lures, so my eldest, decided to try a jellied eel, we caught a lot of fish with them. I seem to remember the bass being very partial to the orange ones.

Those jellied eels are awesome bass bait. A few years ago, I camped with the kids at a place near Bonnievale, and we fished the Breede with spinning tackle from the bank. We were having limited success with bass lures, so my eldest, decided to try a jellied eel, we caught a lot of fish with them. I seem to remember the bass being very partial to the orange ones.

haha, you sure you are not refering to jelly-babies Andre?

"Innocence is a wild trout. But we humans, being complicated, have to pursue innocence in complex ways" - Datus Proper

I have seen with my own two eyes what an Eel can do to a fishing rod. An oldtoppie who I use to fish with as a lad, caught an Eel on an earthworm the one day and the Eel broke his rod in half.

Funny fish to catch, because they would go in underneath rocks and wedge themselve in such a way that they dont come out, they will also wrap themselve around the fishing line almost forming a circle, making it hard to bring in.

If you ever thought a Barbel is the streetfighter of our indigenous fish, think again!

I have never caught one myself, but would love to. I just hope that one of you guys dont hook one on your smallstream rods, because it would be a sad day rod wise, if your light tippets holds up.

Bill Hansford Steele reckons Eels can be caught regulary on fly. Are 9 and 10wt rods permitted on the streams?

If so? I would like to come and give it a bash!!!

PS: Now I know why the Capies come home and tell stories of Massive Trout lost on the streams!!!

jelly babies could work too, but I am definatly ferrering to the jellied eels, or "jelly snakes" they are longer , and with the hook through the head, give awesome movement. Promise you, we caught fish on them, it became quite a joke actually. A few months after this, we camped next to the Breede at a place called Hessakwas, you will probably know it. And we tried the jelly ells, and ...nothing. Ended up getting small bass and crap (sorry , carp ) on bread, mixed with dog food. Got a real guts ache from eating all the jelly eels though.